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BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 



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BOGGY SOLITUDES OF 
NANTUCKET 



By 
ANNE WILSON 




New York and Washington 

THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1908 



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LIBRARY of 00NGRE6S 
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AUG 6 1»08 

ILASV/A AXC, m^. 
COPY B, 



Copyright, 1908 

BY 

ANNE WILSON 



TO MY MOTHER 



From out the ground 

A little bluebell 
Peeped early forth 

At the lovely dell; 
A little bee came 

And sipped with glee: 
For each other made 

They surely must be, 

— Goethe. 



" Can we conceive what humanity would be if it did 
not know the flowers? If these did not exist, if they had 
all been hidden from our gaze, as are probably a thousand 
no less fairy sights that are all around us, but invisible to 
our eyes, would our character, our faculties, our sense of 
the beautiful, our aptitude for happiness, be quite the 
same? " — M^terlinck. 



FOREWORD 




of winter? 
den, and 



HAT is more natural 
than the love of wild 
flowers — the treasures 
of moor, marsh, and 
quaking bog, of inspir- 
ing surroundings, 
where days of exquisite 
delight may be spent, 
that the happy mem- 
ories may be stored 
away for the brighten- 
ing of the bleak days 
We are told life began in a gar- 



How could such sweet and wholesome hours 
Be reckoned, but with herbs and flowers? ** 



Seacoast flowers are usually more brilliant 
in color than the same flowers in the interior. 



10 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

and the summers at Nantucket, in the absence 
of poisonous snakes, are especially favored 
for this recreation in " boggy solitudes." 

It is not surprising to learn that a hundred 
years ago the Frenchman, Marsillac, plunged 
into these swamps to discover their treasures, 
heedless of the delicate silk stockings he wore; 
or that Dr. Asa Gray, our greatest botanist, 
should say he was not astonished at anything 
found growing in Nantucket. 

The whole island is a veritable garden spot. 
One has only to go on the moors to appreciate 
the truth of this statement. Flower succeeds 
flower, springing up from the sandy soil and 
moss, in greatest luxuriance and profusion, 
beginning with the tiny hepatica and blue 
flash of the violet in the spring to the showy 
golden-rod and imperial aster of the fall. 

Years ago when thousands of sheep roamed 
here at will, nibbling the first of any flowering 
plant that appeared, it was not easy to fore- 
stall these early breakfasters, and in conse- 
quence it was almost impossible to find out 
what really did grow on the island. 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 11 

Fortunately for the lover of plant life there 
are many ways in which seed may be scat- 
tered. Sometimes they are brought in the 
trunks of trees that float away encumbered 
with earth; occasionally in blocks of ice; or 
again, from the opposite direction, by the 
warm waters of the Gulf Stream ; frequently, 
too, a tornado will carry them a great distance, 
and often they are found in the balls of mud 
on the feet of the migratory water birds. 

After the planting of the pine trees on the 
island, laws were passed forbidding the un- 
limited ranging of sheep. This improved con- 
ditions wonderfully, so that large companies 
of flowers were soon to be found that had hith- 
erto been thought rare, while new plants were 
constantly discovered. Among them the dainty 
Scotch heather has appeared, and a wealth of 
orchids is also to be found. The moccasin 
flower, arethusa, pogonia, calopogon, — white- 
fringed and green-fringed orchis, — and two 
kinds of lady's tresses are abundant, while the 
tway blade is discovered less frequently. Most 
of these orchids are seen growing from the 



12 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

bulb in the cool shady bogs, while the moc- 
casin flower lends its rich color, instead, to 
the meadowlands. If you take a microscope 
and study the eccentric bearded lip found in 
every orchid, you will feel rewarded, and will 
become more familiar with their wondrous 
beauty. 

Here, too, delicate ferns nestling amid fairy- 
like mosses bring their message to the seeker 
of the beautiful. Nothing in nature can be 
more lovely and impressive than the unfurling 
of the fragile sail-like frond of a tender fern. 
While as to the grasses, a new interest arises 
when we realize that our existence depends 
almost entirely upon them. 

Hamilton Gibson tells us that swamps are 
living calendars, not merely of seasons alone, 
but of every successive month, and that the 
record is unmistakably disclosed: whispered 
in the fragrant breath of the flowers and the 
aromatic herbage crushed under foot, floating 
on filmy wing of dragon-fly and butterfly, or 
glistening in the air on silky seeds. 

Slip ofif the tether of the daily routine, 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 13 

wander where the bees and butterflies wake 
the sleeping buds, and read this record as 
written by the hand of Nature. 

'' Flowers preach to us if we will hear. 
The rose saith in the dewy morn, 
^ I am most fair, 
Yet all my loveliness is born 
Upon a thorn.' 

The lilies say, ' Behold how we 
Preach, without words, of purity ! ' 

" But not alone the fairest flowers: 
The merest grass 
Along the roadside when we pass. 
Lichen and moss and sturdy weed. 
Tell of His love who sends the dew. 
The rain, and the sunshine too. 
To nourish one small seed." 

D. G. ROSSETTI. 



" You should have heard him speak of what he loved : 
of the tent pitched beside the talking water; of the stars 
overhead at night ; of the blest return of the morning, the 
peep of day over the moors, the awaking birds among the 
birches; how he abhorred the long winter shut in cities: 
and with what delight, at the return of spring, he once 
more pitched his camp in the living out-of-doors." — 
Stevenson. 



CHAPTER I 



HE sun came up, a 
golden ball in the 
morning sky, and a 
meadow-lark richly 
warbled in flute-like 
tones, " Good morn- 
ing," before resting 
on an azalea twig. 
It was not long be- 
fore robin in red vest 
came hopping over 
the ground, express- 
ing? by a toss of the head, his general 
satisfaction with the day, and immediately 
finding a good fat worm for his break- 
fast. With two or three more hops, came 
^^ Cheer up! Cheer up!" in greeting to 
the fields of snowy daisies and the golden but- 
tercups, now but just awake. Stately purple- 
crowned thistles looked on, unmoved by the 

17 



SI 



18 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

gentle wind, which with caressing hand 
soothed the grasses, glittering with the early 
sunbeams upon them like so many diamonds 
in a coronet. Not far off was a group of 
rabbit-foot clover, huddling close together, 
their soft dove-colored bushy heads like 
woolly sheep upon the moorland. 

Now Bob White ventures near, understand- 
ing the cruel hunter with gun lurks not in 
this peaceful spot, and he can go about in per- 
fect safety. A bee-martin, perched on a scrub 
oak near the meadow-lark, calls '' Good 
morning! Good morning! " while Jack rabbit 
runs up from the beach grass to hearken to 
the concert, for he has heard the orchestra 
strike up in welcome to the newborn day. His 
ears look longer, and are more erect than ever, 
as he sits by a bunch of plantain, nibbling the 
first course of his morning meal. 

The faint low trills of a song sparrow glad- 
den every pause in the program, and there 
is continuous music, while from every side 
comes ^^z-zip! z-zip!" and the drowsy chirp 
and hum in the insect world. 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 19 

The scene is a cliff, studded with bay berry 
and sweet fern, ladening the air with fra- 
grance. Below is a stretch of yellow sand, 
while overhead the sky, a canopy of delicate 
blue with feathery white clouds dancing like 
fairies in the boundless space, melts into 
the blue of the ocean. Not far away a 
lighthouse stands solitary, a silent sentinel 
by day, a welcome beacon by night. 
Some butterflies, white as sails upon the sea, 
dip lightly on the little white violets which 
have lingered with the bluets that carpeted 
the moors with their dainty flowers in early 
spring. 

The trailing arbutus, with its waxy pink 
and white blossoms, and fragrant breath, has 
left its sturdy leaves and an occasional blossom 
on the trailing shrubby stems, and the large 
velvety bird-foot violet, which saves us an 
autumn blossom, mingles with the starry-flow- 
ered chickweed, whose mission is to satisfy the 
delicate appetite of caged song birds; while 
everywhere are seen the short, close, rusty 
green spikes of the blue-purple flowered self- 



20 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

heal, or brunella, contented bumble-bees 
sipping its sweets with reckless abandon. 

Just over the cliff the broom mingles 
bright yellow blossoms with its own rich 
green foliage, while within a stone's-throw is 
the greatest treasure of all, so carefully 
guarded by brambles and thick growth of 
tangled bushes that very few would ever dis- 
cover it. The fern lover would go into rap- 
tures at the prospect, for here at the entrance 
of his realm the king in majesty rises to greet 
you. In regal splendor stand rich specimens 
of the Osmunda regalis, or royal fern, while 
thousands of marsh and sensitive ferns throng 
the little colony over w^hich the king so 
proudly reigns. 

Not a step can be taken without crushing 
out the life of some of them, while in an ad- 
joining realm, so to speak, are great crowns 
of cinnamon osmunda, five or six feet tall, 
with their woolly-headed croziers, — which 
the little birds so love, using the fern cotton 
to soften their nests. Here also is a colony of 
smaller swamp ferns: indeed 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 21 

** Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem, 
There's not a leaf that falls upon the ground 
But holds some joy of silence or of sound 
But sprite begotten of a summer dream." 



" A Httle marsh plant, yellow green, 
And pricked at lip with tender red. 
Tread close, and either way you tread 
Some faint black water jets between, 
Lest you should bruise the curious head. 

"You call it sundew: how it grows. 
If with its color it have breath, 
If life taste sweet to it, if death 
Pain its soft petal, no man knows: 
Man has no sight or sense that saith.'^ 

— Swinburne. 



CHAPTER II 




I sprang out of bed 



OB WHITE! Bob 
White!" It was but 
dawn, and another 
day was breaking, 
when I turned over 
sleepily, trying to 
rouse myself, and 
wondering why Bob 
White was pleading 
so early. 

^^Bob White! Bob 
White!" 
and ran over to the 



little window from which there was a glorious 
view of a long stretch of moorland melting 
into low hills covered with all the different 
shades of green, from the pale leaves of the 
bay berry to the blackness of the stunted 
growth of heath-like little shrubs. It all 

25 



26 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

looked lovely and peaceful in the gray dawn, 
which was now gradually taking on a brilliant 
rosy hue, for the sun, not caught napping as 
I had been, was getting ready to leap above 
the distant horizon, bringing in his train an- 
other day. 

Right under the window was the dear little 
fellow, my Bob White, in his soft brown 
feather coat, and he seemed to be quite alone. 
But soon along there came hopping a little 
fellow in red vest, who sang out, " Cheer up! 
Cheer up!" 

Bob White and the robin eyed each other, 
and then proceeded to hunt a breakfast before 
beginning the business of the day. They filled 
me with a longing to get out into the open, 
and I waited restlessly for the June afternoon 
walk over the moors. 

Little sundrops and yellow stargrass blos- 
somed along the roadside I took over the hills 
to a bog. The shady spots were filled with a 
pale purple flower — the crane's bill or wild 
geranium, named for the beak-like appear- 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 27 

ance of its fruit, which was forming on the 
same flower stalks with new buds. An other- 
wise desolate place was gay with the spikes of 
the fireweed, whose willow-like leaves and 
magenta pink flow^ers towered several feet 
above the neighboring plants. 

An occasional mullein, '^ the burly weed 
with mittens and cloak," stood as silent senti- 
nel, while a humming-bird flitted in and out 
among the leaves, gathering the soft hairs to 
line its tiny nest. 

The first pyrola, with flowers so like the 
lily of the valley it is often called ^^wild lily 
of the valley," was blooming on the hillside 
under some huckleberry bushes. The green 
leaves of the pyrola were used in early days 
for bruises, which won for it the homely name 
'' shin leaf." 

The swamp was framed by a tangled 
growth, and just within was a brilliant carpet 
of mingled soft green club moss and glittering 
red leaves, growing in an open rosette on the 
ground, and the young leaves, curled like fern 
fronds, seemed in the sunshine to be covered 



28 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

with sparkling dewdrops. But the misguided 
insect lighting on these plants is caught by this 
dew-like substance and afterwards held fast 
by the strong red bristles. This plant is the 
round-leaved sundew, whose flowers, scarcely 
noticeable, are small and white, growing on 
an F-sided curved raceme of buds mostly, 
while the flowers of the thread-leaved sundew 
are purplish pink. 

" But alas 

What's this I hear 

About the new carnivora? 

Can little plants 

Eat bugs and ants 

And gnats and flies? — 
A sort of retrograding: 

Surely the fare 

Of flowers is air 

Or sunshine sweet : 

They shouldn't eat 
Or do aught so degrading! " 

We are glad of the explanation for these 
plants being ^^ carnivorous " — in that the soil 
in which they grow has little nitrogen. 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 29 

Here and there low marsh ferns had thrown 
themselves with the careless, artistic hand of 
nature from the grayish silver-green quaking 
sphagnum, and every now and then a small 
*' peach-blossomed" colony of pogonia or 
adder's mouth filled the air with the odor of 
violets, the while turning on their stalks to 
follow the sun and expand in its warmth. It 
is said the original home of this orchid is 
Japan. 

Clammy azalea buds were just peeping out, 
and from the lovely pink and white blossoms 
scattered through the green hedge encircling 
the little swamp was heard a 

" Lovely bird with azure wings, 
And song that said a thousand things." 

Just outside the delicate purple-pink poly- 
gala was blooming. Its little flowers clus- 
tered along the upper part of leafy stems, 
though there is an interesting fertile white 
flower concealed on the subterranean stem, 
and found only by those who dig up the plant. 



30 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

From this swamp I went to one where the 
birds were all singing their evensong. Wild 
strawberries were ripening in greatest abund- 
ance, and cranberry vines, with pink nodding 
flowers on wiry stems, mingled with luxuriant 
moss, from which sprang finest specimens of 
pogonia. 

Amid the marsh ferns nodded the different 
grasses. There also flourished the azalea, and 
here and there wild rosebuds, from white tQ^ 
the deepest pink, while near them some but- 
tercups had lingered, which made one think 
of 

'' Down in a garden olden, — 

Just where, I do not know, — 
A buttercup all golden 

Chanced near a rose to grow : 
And every morning early, 

Before the buds were up, 
A tiny dewdrop pearly 

Fell in this little cup. 

" This was the drink of water 
The rose had ev'ry day; 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 31 

But no one yet has caught her 

While drinking in this way. 
Surely it is no treason 

To say she drinks so yet, 
For that may be the reason, 

Her lips with dew are wet.'^ 

Great spires of fireweed sprang up every- 
where, and the little cinquefoil, with its five- 
fingered leaves and tiny bright yellow flow- 
ers, was very abundant, in striking contrast to 
the regal iris, with its large showy blue-violet 
flower — 

^* Born in the purple, born to joy and pleasance, 
Thou dost not toil nor spin. 
But makest glad and radiant with thy presence 
The meadow and the linn. 



' The wind blows, and uplifts thy drooping banner, 

And round thee throng and run 
The rushes, the green yeomen of thy manor, 
The outlaws of the sun. 



32 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

*' Thou art the iris, fair among the fairest, 
Who armed with golden rod, 
And winged with the celestial azure bearest 
The message of some god/' 



'' What impulse stirs the feathery grasses, 
And dips along their wavering line ; 
While, as the sudden tremor passes, 
Two strange sweet eyes look up to mine? 
Eyes with a more than human pleasing, 
So poet-deep, so maiden-shy! 
Till all my soul is drowned in gazing, 
O rare blue eyes! 

*^ My spirit flower, my heaven-sent blossom, 
I held your secret in my hand, 
I caught and held you to my bosom, 
I thought to know and understand. 
O fatal haste ! Thou hast undone me. 
Yet, yet, unsolved the mystery lies — 
They closed, and shut the wonder from me. 
Those deep, dark eyes! '' 



CHAPTER III 



T seems strange there 
are no two bogs ex- 
actly alike. Nature 
does not repeat her- 
self, there being ever- 
varying c o m b i n a- 
tions. One thing is 
certain, the greatest 
treasures, such as we 
are seeking, are usu- 
ally found in the least 
promising bogs. Of- 
ten there is a network of blackberry bram- 
bles which are forbidding to most of us, while 
among these will rise the stately brake. Bay 
and black alder, a member of the holly family, 
which will have its bright red berries after the 
leaves turn black and fall, will be mingled 
with clammy azalea, clethra, sassafras, or oc- 

35 




86 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

casionally a wild black cherry, aspen, or 
willow, all bound together by the wild pink 
morning glory (bindweed) or the iron arm 
of the fox grape. 

However, patience is sure to be rewarded, 
and you will soon be admitted an honored 
guest into marvelous rooms or bowers car- 
peted with velvety moss, or perhaps cranberry 
blossoms or berries on their slender, trailing, 
wiry stems; or yet a delicate tracery of wild 
strawberry leaves, or cinquefoil, weaving a 
texture so much more beautiful and fantastic 
than any fashioned by the loom of man. 

To-day, in each of the bogs, there were the 
old friends, — cinnamon, and snake, and the 
first glimpse of the interrupted fern, a very 
graceful plant, quite like the cinnamon, but 
easily distinguished by its fertile fronds, 
which have some of the middle pinnae bear- 
ing fruit. These fertile fronds are set in a 
vase formed by the sterile fronds, which fall 
away in all directions. In the first, against 
the green background, were the little yellow 
flowers streaked with dark red, growing from 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 37 

the axils of the leaves of the loose strife. Over 
these lingered some butterflies of the same 
color, proving again the ^^ Painted Lady" is 
a wise little creature, who for protection seeks 
a flower to match her pretty wings. 

A few belated cranberry blossoms must 
surely be the pink lilies in the garden of the 
same fairies who use for tables the bright red 
toadstools springing up amid the velvety 
green club moss. Delicate perfumes of azalea, 
bay, and sweet fern mingled here together. 

In another sw^amp some blue-eyed grass, or 
^'eye-bright," had found a home where the 
sunlight touched the center of pure gold. 
Waving there, among its seed pods, graceful 
and dainty, it made a spot almost as blue as 
the heavens above. One can scarcely believe 
this modest little flower belongs to the same 
family as the showy fleur-de-lis, or iris, de- 
scribed by Ruskin as '^ the flower of chivalry, 
having a sword for its leaf and a lily for its 
heart." 

Then came an unexpected bower of wild 
roses, while near a large crown of cinnamon 



38 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

fern were the white bells of the low-grow- 
ing stagger bush. The sheep and calves find 
the leaves of this most appetizing, but, being 
poisonous, it will cause the animals to stagger 
unsteadily about after indulging too freely in 
the ^^ forbidden fruit." Here also was found 
the tiny pink sheep laurel, which is such a 
feast to the eyes, but so deadly to cattle. 

The silence was broken by the distant voice 
of the sea, or ^^Pthrung! pthrung!" croak of 
the old frogs, or the ^^Pug! pug!" of their 
children. A red-winged blackbird sat on the 
topmost twig of a viburnum, as if looking for 
the blackberries of October, and with '^ Chur- 
ree! chur-ree! chur-ree!" flies away, his scar- 
let-tipped wing flashing in the sunshine, while 
a blue-winged dragon-fly glides in and out 
among the reeds and rushes, and the song 
sparrows trill gaily. 

The moors with their patches of sweet fern 
and tender reddish-green oak leaves stretch 
out to the sea, with here and there a gorgeous 
purple or yellow thistle, so well equipped for 
life's battle, giving color to the scene. Feast- 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 39 

ing on these are the bumble-bees and butter- 
flies, and near one lay the skin of a harmless 
snake, thrown aside for a new spring garment. 
In every bog is a rival. It is the poison 
ivy, — ^well named '' mercury," — which I al- 
ways find getting there ahead of me, and never 
leaving. Fortunate are they who are not sus- 
ceptible to baneful influences of this deceptive 
climber. It has a smooth, fresh green leaf in 
threes, and can easily be distinguished from 
woodbine, which is a five-leafed vine. Both 
change to a brilliant red in the fall, and both 
have berries. By means of the tiny rootlets 
on its stem poison ivy climbs flauntingly, and 
gaudily, to any height; but if there is nothing 
on which to cling, it is content to mass itself 
upon the ground. 



'' O star on the breast of the river, 

marvel of bloom and grace, 

Did you fall straight down from heaven 

Out of the sweetest place? 
You are white as the thoughts of an angel. 

Your heart is steeped in the sun ; 
Did you grow in the golden city. 

My pure and radiant one? 

" Nay, nay, I fell not out of heaven, 
None gave me my saintly white ; 

It slowly grew from the blackness. 
Far down in the dreary night; 

From the ooze of the silent river 

1 won my glory and grace; 
White souls fall not, O my poet, 

They rise to the sweetest place.'' 

— Mary Frances Batts. 



CHAPTER IV 



MONG the very com- 
mon flowers that are 
seen everywhere is 
the tansy, or bitter 
buttons, looking like 
a cluster of yellow 
daisy centers. The 
name comes from 
athanasia (immor- 
tality), and the aro- 
matic smell declares 
it to be an herb, 
whose leaves are dried and made into a 
tea thought to cure every ill to which 
flesh is heir. With the Bouncing Bets, 
yellow day lilies, and many other run- 
aways from old gardens, it is to be found 
basking in the sunshine, like a vagrant, along 
the roadsides. 

43 





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44 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

*' The wholesome yarrows' clusters fine 
Like frosted silver dimly shine/' 

This is another common, insignificant 
flower, grayish white or pink, with herby 
odor, once useful, but now trudging along the 
roadside like ^^ silent schoolgirls clad in dull 
uniform." 

The shepherd's purse, with its inconspicu- 
ous white flowers and seed pods, whose shape 
gives the name, is also called mother's heart. 

The poor man's weatherglass, or shepherd's 
clock, is found in violet as well as red, the 
latter being very common, and known as scar- 
let pimpernel. Whenever its tiny scarlet blos- 
soms are seen folding up their delicate petals, 
it may be taken as a certain indication of ap- 
proaching rain. Darwin says: 

*^ Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel, 
In fiery red the sun doth rise, 
Then wades through clouds to mount the skies ; 
'Twill surely rain, we see't with sorrow, 
No working in the fields to-morrow." 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 45 

It is true that this little weather prophet in 
sunshine is found open, while in cloudy or 
rainy weather there are only closed buds. 

The delicate little yellow wood sorrel, with 
its sunny blossom and tiny heart-shaped leaf, 
and dandelions, are springing up, while the 
wild pea, or lupine, vivid blue and pink, is 
running along the sandy stretches. Farmers, 
looking upon the wild pea as a robber of good 
soil, have given it the name lupine, from lupus 
(wolf) . Still another name for it is old maid's 
bonnet. 

Near Beechwood Farm is a swamp where 
the pitcher plant grows. Its odd tubular 
leaves give it this name, but it is also known 
as the side-saddle flower and huntsman's cup. 
At the bottom of the pitcher always will be 
found many trapped insects, which are sup- 
posed to nourish the plant. Inside of these 
leaves is a sweet secretion which attracts the 
insects, and, once in, it is impossible for them 
to escape from the fatal feast-board, as the 
tube has hairy sides, and the descent into 
^^Avernus" is far easier than the return. 



46 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

Among the '' martyrs " are flies, gnats, mosqui- 
toes, beetles, and other little insects. Early 
in July the flower is in perfection, and is green 
and brownish-purple, while the outside of the 
pitchers are usually veined with red or purple 
lines, making in all a mystic blending of color 
like that of an antique rug. A spongy bog is 
its usual home. 

The shrubs and vines had grown most luxu- 
riantly about this treasure, and it was all one 
could do to get an occasional glimpse of the 
blue above, when pausing for breath in the 
effort to make a way through. Grapevines 
ran riot in this jungle of small red maple 
trees, clethra, azalea, and other shrubs. Al- 
most disheartened when halfway through, I 
stopped — my feet had sunk far into an emerald 
green moss, from which sprang brakes and 
ferns of tropical luxuriance. 

Suddenly there appeared a- quaint little 
pulpit of purple and green, with its jolly little 
purple preacher, and six pale green leaves 
overhead. Sad to say, this little preacher has 
the reputation of devouring unsuspecting little 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 47 

gnats and flies. His audience to-day consisted 
of a group of pink pogonia, who, with bowed 
heads, were listening reverently and filling 
the air with their delicate perfume. Later, 
^^ Jack'' has bright red berries, which the In- 
dians were wont to boil for food. ^^ Jack" is 
a member of the quaint and interesting arum 
family, whose flowers are closely packed on a 
thick spadix, usually sheathed with handsome 
spathe. These flowers are a most beautiful 
study under the microscope. I never see a 
Jack-in-the-pulpit but I think of the bulb 
from which he grows, and the boyhood expe- 
rience of Hamilton Gibson. 

Gibson says, '^ I only knew that a real nice 
boy across the way seemed very fond of those 
little Indian turnips, called them ' sugar 
roots,' and said that they were full of honey. 
And as he bit off his eager mouthful, and re- 
fused to let me taste, I sought one for myself, 
and, generous boy that he was, he showed me 
where to find the buried treasure. It was like 
a small turnip, an innocent-looking afifair 
(and so was the nice boy's modeled piece of 



48 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

apple, by the way) . But oh! the sudden reve- 
lation of the red-hot reservoir of chain-light- 
ning that crammed that innocent bulb! Even 
as I think of it, how I long once more to in- 
terview that real nice boy who opened up the 
mysteries of the ^ sugar root' to my tempted 
curiosity. Let boys beware of this wild, red- 
hot coal; and, should they be impelled by a 
desire to test the unknow^n flavor, let them 
solace themselves with a less dangerous mix- 
ture of four papers of cambric needles and a 
spoonful of pounded glass. This will give a 
faint suggestion of the racy pungency of the 
Indian turnip." 

A rest in this little chapel gave me new 
courage to go on, and before long the much- 
desired pitcher plants were found growing 
on the edge of what had been a small pond. 
Pogonia and calopogon were blooming near, 
while exquisite white pond-lilies were hover- 
ing over their rounded green leaves — 

'' Whence, O fragrant form of light, 
Hast thou drifted through the night, 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 49 

Swanlike, to a leafy nest, 
On the restless waves, at rest ? 

*' Art thou from the snowy zone 
Of a mountain-summit blown, 
Or the blossom of a dream, 
Fashioned in the foamy stream? 

" Nay — methinks the maiden moon. 
When the daylight came too soon. 
Fleeing from her bath to hide. 
Left her garment in the tide." 

In the water lily, or water nymph, it is dif- 
ficult to decide where the petals end and 
where the stamens begin. Dr. Asa Gray says 
^^ the petals are numerous, the innermost grad- 
ually being transformed into stamens," while 
other well-known authorities speak of the 
petals as being enlarged and flattened stamens. 

Every now and then along the way the bril- 
liant yellow blossoms of the jewel weed nod 
among the thin green leaves in the borders of 
marshes, while the ruby-throated humming- 



50 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

bird hovers over them. When the seed pods 
form they pop open at the slightest touch, and 
from this comes the name " touch-me-not/' 
while the leaves have the magic of being 
transformed, apparently, into iridescent frosted 
silver when held beneath the water. 



" Every one who has been upon a walking or a boating 
tour, living in the open air, with the body in constant exer- 
cise and the mind in fallow, knows true ease and quiet. 

*' The irritating action of the brain is set at rest ; we 
think in a plain unfeverish temper; little things seem big 
enough, and great things no longer portentous: and the 
world is smilingly accepted as it is." — ^Stevenson. 



CHAPTER V 



T is the last of July in 
the bogs — and the 
calopogon is about 
gone, the pogonia and 
arethusa of the past, 
and white-and green- 
fringed orchis just 
coming into bloom. 
Within ten minutes I 
found four orchis to- 
day, a belated po- 
gonia, some calopo- 
gon, and green-fringed orchis and white- 
fringed orchis. These were all growing in a 
bog towards Tom Never's Head. 

The entire bog is a network of the thread- 
leaved sundew, with its delicate little nodding 
raceme of buds, and a solitary pink flower 

53 




5i BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

opening each day to the sun, amid its glis- 
tening jewel-like leaves. It was impossible 
to take a step without crushing it. Soft gray 
reindeer moss and liverworts, also many other 
interesting little growths, were on every hand 
within the spongy bog. 

Great spires of fireweed had assembled in 
companies, and were devouring the outer 
edge, while one queer moss, in grotesque 
shapes, looked like a miniature menagerie 
among the vines of cranberry and wild straw- 
berry. 

Just outside was the solid hedge of azalea 
and the elder, with its great, creamy, sweet- 
smelling, lacy flowers, in striking contrast to 
the rich dark-green leaves. Flies and beetles 
hovered near, attracted by the honey-like odor 
of the plant. Later in the year the clusters of 
dark, juicy fruit will make the spicy elder- 
berry wine so beloved of our forefathers. 

Wild roses twined in and out, a pink blos- 
som here and there, while interesting wand- 
like aletris stood amid the tufts of yellow- 
green leaves. These blossoms, wrinkled and 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 55 

rough outside, as if dusted with white meal, 
give this name. Another name, colic root, is 
the keynote to its medicinal value. 

In with this was one stray blossom and the 
leaves of the arethusa. This Indian pink is 
an orchid of early June, and, like the pogonia, 
has the odor of sweet violets. 

Chicory, or succory, with its bright azure- 
blue flowers, fading away into white on being 
picked, is marching along the roadside wastes 
in company with common St. John's wort, 
whose bright yellow blossoms are disliked by 
the farmer almost as much as the Queen 
Anne's lace, with fringy foliage and lacy 
blossom. Another name for the latter, bird's 
nest, is very appropriate, for in late summer 
the flowers form in a concave cluster, which is 
very much like the homes of our feathered 
friends. 

Here and there are fields of wild mustard, 
whose pale yellow blossoms make a bit of 
charming color, and round about the bushy 
little indigo of the pea family, with its clover- 
like leaves and small bright yellow flowers, 



56 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

has suddenly burst into bloom, while very 
near is found the tephrosia, whose pink and 
yellow blossoms, mingled with its sensitive 
sage-green leaves, make one of the daintiest 
bouquets imaginable. The latter is a mem- 
ber of the pulse family, and easily identified 
by the butterfly-shaped corolla. The flowers 
are always arranged in fives, or multiples of 
five, while the stamens, never more than ten, 
are generally united by their filaments. 

Saucy black-eyed Susans are in the hot, 
sunny fields : 

" Merry, laughing, black-eyed Susans grow along the 
dusty way, 

Homely, wholesome, happy-hearted little country maids 
are they. 

Frailer sisters shrink and wither, 'neath the hot mid- 
summer sun. 

But these sturdy ones will revel till the long bright days 
are done.'' 

The greenish lavender-pink flowers of the 
common milkweed are also blooming on the 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 57 

moorland, and a little later these will be the 
pretty pods of white silk, w^hich the faintest 
zephyr floats far away. When the season for 
this arrives, the birds will be feasting off the 
pale-red speckled berries of the false Solo- 
mon's seal, which in early summer had a spike 
of fine white flowers, making it a much hand- 
somer plant than the true Solomon's seal. The 
root of the latter has a pitted appearance, for 
as each stalk is broken off a scar is left to mark 
the fracture. 

All over the moors are great beds of meal 
plum, while the everlasting, with its many 
pearly-white scale blossoms, looking through 
the lens like miniature water lilies, is now 
plentiful. 

At sunset, jogging along, we see the regular, 
perfect flowers of the evening primrose, its 
fragrant cups of pale gold opening one by 
one; but at the end of summer they will keep 
open all day long. 

The white-fringed orchis is quite apt to 
choose the same location in the swamp and 
peat bogs for its home as the calopogon. What 



58 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

could be more exquisite than these pure-white 
fragrant flowers, with fringed lips, clustered 
on a spike, while the lance-shaped leaves clasp 
the stem? Sometimes it would seem they run 
away into the blueberry bushes and other 
shrubs for protection, and it takes an ^^ orchid 
eye" to detect them in some of their haunts. 

Along the roadside, within a few feet of 
the path, are the green-fringed orchis, which 
so resemble the white, but are not so beautiful, 
and occasionally a yellow-fringed one is 
found. 

On the commons, the moccasin flower, or 
lady's slipper, gives when blooming a pink 
tinge amid the green. This plant is especially 
beautiful. The two broad leaves arise from 
the underground stem, appearing to spring 
from the very root, while a slender leafless 
stalk ascends between the leaves, bearing a 
single flower, commonly known as lady's slip- 
per; but moccasin flower is better, as it more 
resembles an Indian moccasin. Still another 
name is Noah's ark. Elaine Goodale gives a 
vivid description of it: 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 59 

'' Graceful and tall the slender, drooping stem, 
With two broad leaves below. 
Shapely the flower so lightly poised between, 
And warm her rosy glow." 

There is a little shrub, very abundant, 
known as hard hack, or better named, from 
its pink spires, steeple-bush. It blossoms 
along with the soft plumes of the meadow- 
sweet through the summer. These two are 
much alike, but the flowers of the former are 
pinker, while the under side of the leaves and 
brown stems look cottony. 

Peaceful and innocent is the afternoon, save 
for the occasional high-sailing hawk, making 
ominous, graceful swoops in the blue above, 
ready to pounce on the unsuspecting little 
birds, comfortably housed in their downy 
nests among the low, clustering bushes. 

John Burroughs says the henhawk likes 
the haze and calm of these long warm days. 
^' He is a bird of leisure, and seems always 
at his ease. How beautiful and majestic are 
his movements! So self-poised and easy, such 



60 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF XAXTUCKET 

an entire absence of haste, such a magnificent 
amplitude of circles and spirals, such a 
haughty, imperial grace, and, occasionally, 
such darine aerial evolutions!'' 



'' Lo here hath been dawning another blue day; 
Think wilt thou let it slip useless away? 
Out of Eternity this new day is born; 
Into Eternity at night will return. 

'' Behold it aforetime no eye ever did ; 
So soon it forever from all eyes is hid. 
Here hath been dawning another blue day, 
Think wilt thou let it slip useless away? ^' 

— Carlyle. 



CHAPTER VI 



HE berry family on 
the island of Nan- 
tucket is large, inter- 
esting, and useful. 
First, there is the 
common blackberry, 
whose branches in 
June are covered with 
lovely white blos- 
soms, but also armed 
with such stout, short 
prickles that one is 

not tempted a second time to take a spray. 

Growing along the roadsides and rutted lanes, 

they are conveniently near for the gatherers 

of the fruit later on. 

Sometimes we find them in the pine woods, 

near the Indian pipes — which seems to indi- 
es 




64 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

cate they might be smokers — but here they 
stand upon a soft golden-brown carpet of the 
fallen pine needles, surrounded by a dainty 
garden of the fragrant, fragile little pinkish- 
white pipsissewa, whose anthers give to it a 
purplish tinge. The shining, smooth ever- 
green leaves make the whole beautiful plant 
the very essence of the woods. 

In extreme youth the fruit of the black- 
berries is green, changing afterwards in the 
sun's warm rays to red, and then black. A 
modest little cousin of these is the running 
swamp blackberry, with trailing reddish 
stems and shining thick leaves, and delicate 
white blossoms that will later be a small black 
fruit, but of little value except to the birds. 

The blueberries also love the bogs and low 
thickets near the orchis and sundews. They 
are well named, for many of them, when ripe, 
are the loveliest blue, while the huckleberries 
are very black. 

Both the blueberries and huckleberries 
when young wear white frilled caps, which 
are discarded when they become older. 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 65 

Right in the midst of a little colony of blue- 
berries we will find the white-fringed or- 
chis, which 

" With their coy and dainty graces, 
Lure us to their hiding places." 

These look all the whiter by contrast with 
their surroundings. The huckleberries, on the 
contrary, love the hillsides better than the 
swamps, and generally will have great gar- 
dens of sweet fern and tall brakes growing 
all about them. 

Wild strawberries run over the mosses in 
with the sundews. In early summer they are 
dressed in green leaves and white blossoms, 
and later, when comes the bright red fruit, the 
leaves are prettily colored with all the gay 
tints of autumn. Sometimes the yellow-flow- 
ered strawberry is confused with the cinque- 
foil, but it is really very easy to distinguish 
them apart, when we remember that the 
strawberry has three divisions of a leaf, while 
the cinquefoil has, as its name indicates, 



66 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

five. In our ramble we may chance upon 
the wild gooseberry and raspberry in the 
thickets surrounding little swamps, as if they 
too wanted to aid in the barricade to the treas- 
ures within. 

The bright red checkerberries, here found 
in profusion, are much relished by the birds, 
while the children prefer to chew the new 
tender red leaves. These plants, called 
'' youngsters " in some localities, here are 
known as '' drunkards," as a tea made of the 
leaves, when freely imbibed, will make one 
rather uncertain as to locomotion. Often late 
in the season the waxy white flower bells are 
found at the same time with the fruit. 

All summer long, at any hour, we may see 
the field mouse run out from its nest in the 
ground, where it has its little store of grain 
laid up for future use, while on gray, foggy 
days wonderful sights are the spiders' webs, 
delicately flaunted like ghostly banner from 
every blade of grass. There will be thou- 
sands of them, as far as the eye can reach, 
glistening with the jewel-like drops of moist- 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 67 

ure upon them, and there is never a day with- 
out the cheerful accompaniment of the song 
sparrow adding to the joys of the passing 
hours. 

'' A few notes, three or four, 
Repeated o'er and o'er 

In low, soft, liquid strains, 
Make all thy hymn of praise, 
Sing all love's tender lays. 

Sing even love's sweet pains. 

'* Thy fond mate sitting near 
Is glad as I to hear 

That trium.ph of thine art; 
Just that same song of thine. 
Sung over line by line. 

Won her grandmother's heart." 



^' Upon the margin of a reedy pond, 
Held in the hollow of low-rounded hills, 
Where silence like a presence broods and thrills, 
I found Sabbatia. As a lover fond. 
Flying the mistress of his heart to greet. 
Forgets the world in reading her sweet eyes. 
And cries, ' For me God makes a Paradise ! ' 
So, sitting happy at Sabbatia's feet. 
Bathed in the sunshine of her rosy smile, 
I murmured, ' 'Twas for me she grew so fair! ' 
For answer, lightly glided here and there 
A blue-winged dragon-fly; a bird the while 
Trilled one clear note; tall rushes stirred, and near 
I caught the glisten of a sundew's tear." 

— Emily S. Forman. 



CHAPTER VII 



HERE could be no 
better description of 
the home of the Sab- 
batia gracilis on Nan- 
tucket, this dainty lit- 
tle rose-pink member 
of the gentien family. 
They are occasionally 
white, but generally 
there are four pink 
petals of the solitary 
blossom, three-quar- 
diameter, on long pe- 
branches, while in the 
center of each is a greenish star. The slen- 
der, tapering, almost thread-like, light-green 
leaves clasp the stem. This plant loves salt 
marshes. 
The little 




ters of 
duncles 



an 
at 



inch in 
ends of 



pond 



in the 

71 



hollow of low 



72 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

rounded hills " was blue with pickerel w^eed, 
whose great spikes of ragged blue flowers 
among the arrow-shaped leaves made a royal 
display. On the edge of the pond sundew 
mingled with the ferns and mosses, while on 
the hillsides huckleberries were fast ripening, 
and the flaming torch of the wood lily flared 
up here and there, making a vivid picture. 

This Philadelphia lily is said to be the one 
with which the raiment of Solomon in all his 
glory could not compare. Usually found 
growing singly, at the summit of the stem 
sometimes there will be two, three, or even 
four. The sun, however hot, does not wilt it, 
for it thrives in the heat. The lily family is 
known by its regular symmetrical flowers. Al- 
most always its floral envelope is a perianth of 
six equal parts, white or gaily colored, rarely 
green, but always graceful and lovely. In 
many otherwise waste places are seen the 
orange flame of the Turk's cap lily, standing 
six feet high, from three to seven in a cluster. 

At the same time we get the sabbatia, we 
find the blue vervain, or simpler's joy, small 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 73 

purplish-blue flowers, on numerous slender 
spikes, with lance-shaped opposite leaves, 
which are as rough as the stem. Virgil refers 
to vervain as a charm to recover lost love. It 
is also regarded as an '' herb of grace." 

'' Hallowed be thou, vervain, 
As thou growest on the ground, 
For in the Mount of Calvary 
There thou wast first found. '* 

Yellow asters are now making great bold 
spots in with the beach grass, and mosses over 
low hills, and moors stretching far away. 
Cat-tails and pussy-toes are in perfection. 

To-day we found the net-veined chain fern, 
Woodwardia augustifolia, growing in a little 
swamp between 'Sconset and Sankoty. The 
fertile fronds of this have very narrow divi- 
sions, covered on the lower side with the 
chains of fruit-dots. The sterile fronds re- 
semble those of the sensitive fern, Onoclea 
sensibilis, except for the rough outline. 

In another bog near is the Virginia chain 



74 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

fern, Woodwardia Virginica, growing among 
a tangle of shrubs and blackberry vines. This 
name is well given, for the fertile frond is 
covered on the under side with regular chain- 
like rows of fruit-dots. The fronds are once 
pinnate, pinnae pinnatifid with oblong seg- 
ments. 

Bright little clusters of ^^ butter and eggs" 
blossomed along the way, the blossom resem- 
bling a cornucopia, of butter color, holding 
a bright yellow yolk of an egg. The abund- 
ant leaves are a pale bluish-green, and like 
soft grass. The name is from the cheese-like 
odor of this plant, suggesting a dairy not too 
well kept. The resemblance between the 
leaves and those of flax gives the other name, 
of yellow toad-flax. 

Growing near along the road was the little 
Michaelmas daisy, or frost weed, with its 
much-branched stem and countless small 
flowers. 

Soon the sumac will take on its wonderful 
autumn foliage of brilliant crimson and gold, 
while the chokecherry, also long since drop- 



BOGGY SOLITJJDES OF NANTUCKET 75 

ping its dainty petals looking so much like 
diminutive apple blossoms, shows the dark 
berries now forming. 

In most of the jungles framing the bogs the 
button bush is now filled w^th its dainty blos- 
soms, of several hundred little florets crowded 
together, looking like a little pin-cushion full 
of pins. This plant belongs to the same fam- 
ily as the little partridge vine, so easily recog- 
nized by its smooth, trailing stem, opposite 
shining evergreen leaves and waxy creamy 
flowers of early June, which have now become 
bright red berries, ready for Bob White's 
Thanksgiving dinner. 



'' It is, perhaps, a more fortunate destiny to have a taste 
for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire. Al- 
though neither is to be despised, it is always better policy 
to learn an interest than to make a thousand pounds: for 
the money will soon be spent, or perhaps you may feel no 
joy in spending it; but the interest remains imperishable 
and ever new. To become a botanist, a geologist, a social 
philosopher, an antiquary, or an artist, is to enlarge one's 
possessions in the universe by an incalculably higher degree, 
and by a far surer sort of property, than to purchase a 
farm of manv acres." — Stevenson. 



CHAPTER VIII 



OME years ago there 
was a wonderful mat, 
of good size, on the 
beach, between the 
tall, graceful, waving 
beach grass and the 
ocean. It was woven 
by the Mertensia mar- 
itima^ or sea lung- 
wort, whose spread- 
ing leaves of rich, 
dark purple and pale 
bluish-green — on which were the delicate 
flowers, from the pinkest buds to purplish, 
and light blue, and occasionally white — 
blended so harmoniously with the pale gray 
sand. To-day there is no trace of the merten- 
sia at this pot, but a mile or so farther along 
a new plant has inaugurated the good work of 
making mats on the gray sand of the beach. 

79 




80 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

Strolling along, one finds kelp strewn amid 
tempting pieces of driftwood, crab shells, 
skates' eggs, pieces of sponge, stones of all 
colors washed into curious shapes, horseshoe 
crabs, and, occasionally, the breast-bone of 
a bird, bleached snow-white. There are 
^^ penny" shells, said to have been used by 
the Indians for money; ^^ pilgrim" shells, so 
numerous in the harbors; ^^ cradles," loved by 
the children; ^^ toe nails," ^^ razors," and many 
others. Occasionally there are sea urchins 
and star fish, and we have had one Portuguese 
man-of-war, that had lost none of its beauty, 
having all the rainbow tints given by the sur- 
face polarization of the light. 

In no part of the United States are more 
beautiful seaweeds found, and those who have 
the necessary skill and patience can make rare 
collections of these gifts of Father Ocean. In 
with these the huge ^Mevil's apron-strings" 
appear at times — a fleshy growth, several 
yards long, the leaves are crinkled on the edge 
and a golden-brown color. 

Before we get to the second mat of merten- 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 81 

sia are the spars of an old wreck, and some 
miles farther on the seagulls have built their 
nests in the sand, and in the season for eggs, 
thousands are found there. The gulls are al- 
ways hovering over the water and along the 
clififs, giving continuous vent to their weird 
cry, and intermingled is the call of the sand- 
piper as he runs fearlessly along the shore. 
Occasionally a great blue heron, standing on 
one foot, surveys his surroundings, entrancing 
the wonder of the scene, while fleets of black 
ducks ride by on the crests of the tossing 
waves. The only craft are a few dories, 
whose sturdy owners are trolling for bluefish, 
or fishing for cod. 

Every now and then we come upon the low^ 
straggling shrubs of beach plum, laden with 
the fruit tinged with purples, reds, and yel- 
lows. These have replaced the delicate rose- 
colored flowers which came before the leaves 
in early June. 

Then great patches of red cranberries glow 
among their shining leaves, making gay mats, 
and the meal plume, or bearberry, with its 



82 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

bright, hard little red fruit, trails along the 
sand dunes, through little vales, over mounds 
and ridges. 

The whiteness of the sandy beach is broken 
frequently by a little emerald or sapphire 
pond, and this is framed with tall reeds and 
grasses, sedges or great tangles of sweet-smell- 
ing shrubs and vines. It is now that the great 
white honey balls of the button bush are burst- 
ing into bloom. 

Many of the wild flowers have rambled off 
from their usual haunts, and one is continually 
experiencing the joy of unexpectedly meeting 
old friends. St. Andrew's cross strolled near 
some Bouncing Bets, or as it is commonly 
known here, ^^ bunch of keys." Linnaeus 
gave this name, St. Andrew's cross, because 
the four pale yellow petals of the flower ap- 
proach each other in pairs, making a cross 
with arms of equal length. 

In late August, at Pokomo Head and at 
Madeket, the salt marshes along the shore 
are a bluish-lavender tinge, with the marsh 
rosemary, so suggestive of filmy sea spray. 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 83 

The branching, leafless stems grow long and 
thick from the roots, and the flowers, growing 
loosely along the stem, are most dainty, keep- 
ing their color a long time, but lacking fra- 
grance. 

" Where winds of the sea blow gaily 
And playfully kiss the land, 
Marsh rosemary sways and trembles 
And nods to the pallid sand." 

Out of the sand at Coatue, covering a large 
area, grows the prickly pear cactus, whose 
fleshy, prickly, lobster-claw green leaves — 
studded with long needles that pierce the hand 
through a glove — hold the bright yellow blos- 
soms that are the size of a water lily. These 
delicate flowers, of a fine silky texture, shade 
from the yellow to a bright red center, and 
cover acre after acre of ground, amid a weird 
growth of fantastic red cedars and juniper 
bushes. 

The island, which is thought to have been 
covered with trees in the past, is without 



84 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

them now, except for a few pines planted 
with the hope that at some future day Nan- 
tucket would not be obliged to bring her fire- 
wood from over the water. The early records 
speak of ^" meadows, woods, and uplands/' and 
great trunks and roots of trees are found in 
the boggy lowlands. 

The beach golden-rod, with its large 
orange-yellow, tansy-like fragrant flower- 
heads, among the bright green lance-shaped 
leaves, will soon make gay the sand hills and 
cliffs, in striking contrast to the silvery sheen 
of the everlasting growing among the bay and 
sweet fern. 

Ever\^vhere are wonderful lichens, strange, 
weird grasses, mosses with reindeer antlers 
and horns, making clean, inviting beds, where 
one can lie and look at the calm, blue sky 
overhead, and see the white feathery clouds 
take on fantastic shapes, suggestive of build- 
ing delightful castles in the air. 



'' In shining groups, each stem a pearly ray, 

Weird flecks of light within the shadowed wood, 
They dwell aloof, a spotless sisterhood. 
No Angelus, except the wild bird's lay. 
Awakes these forest nuns ; yet night and day, 
Their heads are bent, as if in prayerful mood. 
A touch will mar their snow, and tempests rude 
Defile ; but in the mist fresh blossoms stray 
From spirit-gardens, just beyond our ken." 



CHAPTER IX 




wash in the 



N Nantucket in the 
old days, when the 
sheep were allowed to 
roam at will, and the 
raising of them was 
an industry second 
only to that of whal- 
i n g, ten thousand 
sheep would be gath- 
ered to the shear-pens 
near the " classic " 
shores of Miacomet 
pond and the clip- 



for the 
ping. 

In 1876 Mr. Henry Coffin planted some 
Scotch pines and larches near the pond. 
They are now a lovely grove, and the home 
of two kinds of Scotch heather — the Calluna 
vulgaris and the cross-leaved heath. A son 

87 



88 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

of Mr. CofBn tells me that when a boy he 
helped his father plant several thousand trees, 
with the thought that they would improve the 
land. These trees were bought at a Western 
nursery, and arrived with the roots wrapped 
in moss. In the moss there must have been 
seeds of the little heather, for very soon the 
two kinds were found growing there. The 
cross-leaved heath has its delicate pink clus- 
tered flowers along the mossy green stems, 
while the delicate pink bells of the calluna 
heather hang from the ends of the waving 
green stems. 

Not far away from the heather, under the 
somber green of the stately pines, in a carpet 
of soft brown needles, is found a weird little 
group of Indian pipes, left over from last 
summer. Their day has passed, and they 
stand as tiny black ghosts of their former spot- 
less selves. 

It was one of those perfect days of late Au- 
gust when we drove over to the larches — not 
summer, and not real fall. The sky overhead 
was a lovely blue, and an occasional autumn 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 89 

tint was over the moorland. A third kind of 
heather was in blossom in some pine trees not 
far away, and while the bell heather had al- 
most gone by, the others were in their perfec- 
tion. 

Just before reaching this we passed a 
little lane aglow with the yellow blossoms of 
the sensitive pea, whose exquisite foliage of 
sensitive leaves, partly closed in the sunshine, 
is fast asleep when night comes. 

Red lilies on the moor were in striking con- 
trast to the yellow of the wild indigo, and the 
first blazing star, with the showy rose-purple 
flower-heads racemed along the upper part 
of the stem. Occasionally white " stars " are 
found, but they are not so beautiful as the 
purple. 

The scrub oaks looked grotesque, with so 
many crows about them, for, not having pines 
in which to build their nests, these sable, rau- 
cous-voiced birds use dwarf oaks instead. 
Anon there was the ^^Chur-ree! Chur-ree! 
Chur-ree!" of the blackbirds, and a soli- 
tary owl looked down with his big eyes from 



90 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

a long pine tree. The feather from a flicker's 
wing was all we saw of him. 

Now that September is near, the first golden 
plover and yellow legs are making their ap- 
pearance. Black ducks are seen swimming 
ofif the shore, with first snipe and teal around 
the bogs and ponds, apparently waiting for 
the sportsmen who will come a little later in 
the fall. 

As we approached the roadside thickets 
and boggy lands, the fleecy white spikes of the 
clethra, like so many candles, sent forth their 
incense, and the " honey balls " of the button 
bush were in striking contrast to the rich pur- 
ple stems and long, luscious clusters of dark 
berries hanging heavily amid the autumnal 
foliage of the poke weed, whose inconspicuous 
little white blossom of July was scarcely seen. 

The ^'crushed raspberry" of the Joe-Pye- 
weed, named for a New England doctor, and 
its near relative, the boneset, with its soft white 
flowers, were adding to the color effects, while 
sweet odors arose from the grapes as we passed 
their haunts, and in the grassy bogs the short- 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 91 

eared owl was marketing for the little field 
mice, which he regards as the great delicacy 
of his dinner table. 

Notwithstanding the wealth of plant life 
which the island holds for those who would 
seek it, it is believed that many rare plants are 
destroyed by the burning over of the ground 
which occasionally occurs. 



'' The Cardinal and the blood-red spots, 
Its double in the stream, 
As if some wounded eagle's breast, 
Slow throbbing o'er the plain. 
Had left its airy path impressed 
In drops of scarlet rain." 

— Holmes. 



CHAPTER X 



OW is the season when 
along the west edge 
of Sachacha Pond 
can be seen a faint 
tinge of rosy pink 
among the reeds 
and sedges. It is 
given by the hibiscus, 
o r marshmallow, 

marking the fulfil- 
ment of late summer. 
The flower, which 
stands from four to seven feet above the 
ground, has five large petals, and measures 
perhaps six inches, while the leaves are 
a soft green, long and tapering, sometimes 
described as egg-shaped, the under side being 
soft with down. It is not easy to get them, 
for the hibiscus loves a slippery, oozy soil. 

Appearing about the same time, but in 
striking contrast, is a dainty little orchid, 

95 




96 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

the last of the season — lady's tresses. The 
slender, fragrant spikes of white flowers, in 
spiral growth, have a braided look, and that 
may account for the name. One kind, very 
much smaller and more slender, is found in 
dry fields and sandy places. The larger kind 
is found in wet meadows or bogs, and is not 
so dainty as the Spiranthes gracilis. 

And now we have the pretty purplish-pink 
gerardea, with its mass of bright blossoms 
tinting the moors and meadows with color. 
Sometimes growing only a few inches above 
the ground, but oftener a foot high, it is an- 
other herald of the fall. The mints, too, are 
all blooming in the swampy ground, pro- 
claiming their presence by the pungent aroma 
of their leaves, as is also the low mossy little 
milkwort, with its pink clover-like head. 
The Greek name, poly gale, or ^^ much milk,'' 
was not given because it has a milky juice, but 
owing to the belief that, through browsing 
upon the plants, cows become greater milk 
producers. 

Following the road until we reach the little 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 97 

clubhouse known as Farmers' Institute, a one- 
room building just large enough to hold four 
chairs, a stove, and box of saw-dust, we come 
to swampy ground on the edge of a pasture 
by a little stream, and there each August ap- 
pears the cardinal flower. No other flower 
can compare with it in color. It was of this 
plant a Frenchman said, '^ I saw the flower, 
my admiration is forever"; and John Bur- 
roughs says: ^^ But when vivid color is 
wanted, what can surpass or equal our car- 
dinal flower? There is a glow about the 
flower as if color emanated from it as from a 
live coal. The eye is baffled, and does not 
see the texture or material part as it does in 
other flowers, but rests in a steady, still radi- 
ance. It is not so much something colored 
as it is color itself. And then the moist, cool, 
shady places it affects, usually where it has 
no floral rivals, and where the large dark 
shadows need just such a dab of fire! Often, 
too, we see it double, its reflected image in 
some dark pool heightening its effect." This 
ardent flower is a favorite with the ruby- 



98 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

throated humming-bird, who is enticed first 
by its bright red color, and then by the pecu- 
liar formation of the blossom. 

In striking contrast to the cardinal flower 
is the monkey flower, which grows in shady 
spots in marshy places along the roadside with 
flowers, pale violet-purple, growing from the 
axils of the leaves. Exercising a little imagi- 
nation, one can see in the blossom the grin- 
ning face of a little ape or buffoon, and in this 
way it gets its name. 

The mellow, roundish, purple beach plums 
are now hanging amid the green leaves, the 
autumnal foliage of the sumac is painting the 
hedges with scarlet and gold, the small globu- 
lar fruits, thickly covered with crimson hairs, 
so rich in color. 

The thimbleberry is ripening among the 
club moss and sundew, and in with them is 
the Clinton wood fern, and, near, the crested 
buckler fern. The fronds of the latter are 
dark green, tall, and slender, the sterile fronds 
being much shorter than the fertile ones. 
They are also evergreen, lasting through the 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 99 

winter after the fertile fronds have perished. 
The pinnae of the fertile fronds turn their 
faces towards the apex of the frond, and are 
short, lance-shaped, deeply impressed with 
veins, and cut deeply into oblong, obtuse, 
finely toothed divisions. The fruit-dots are 
large and round, halfway between midvein 
and margin. 

The fronds of the Clinton wood fern are 
larger in every way than those of the Crested 
buckler, and nearly twice pinnate; the pinnae 
are broadest at base, cut into from eight to 
sixteen pairs of linear, oblong, obtuse, ob- 
scurely toothed divisions. The fruit-dots are 
large, round, and near the midvein. 

Cranberries are ripening amid the marsh 
ferns and rushes. One white-fringed orchid 
I found to-day full three feet tall. This was 
far away from its usual haunts, and it ap- 
peared to be striving to get above things, 
where it could look over towards the family 
home. 

The tick-trefoil, with its prostrate branches 
of round trefoliate leaves and quantity of tiny 



100 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

purple flowers on the ends of the stems, lends 
its exquisite coloring to the general efifect. 

Here and there are the yellow spikes of 
agrimony, considered in olden times a fine 
remedy for diseases of the eye: 

" Only the herbs and simples of the wood, 
Rue, cinquefoil, gill, vervain, and agrimony." 

The mad-dog skull-cap, bearing its small 
inconspicuous violet-blue flowers, delights in 
the damp spots under the hedges, while the 
wild sunflower ^' towers like a priest raising 
the monstrance over the lesser folk in prayer, 
and strives to resemble the luminary which 
he adores." 

All summer there have been very large and 
brilliantly colored toad-stools scattered over 
the moors, often among the meal plum, and 
now peeping up from it are many little ghost 
flowers, or Indian pipes, while clinging by 
their barbed teeth, like little grappling hooks, 
the fruits of the burr-marigold are making 
themselves felt by man and beast. 



'' The lands are lit 

With all the autumn blaze of golden-rod, 
And everywhere the purple asters nod, 
And bend and wave and flit." 



CHAPTER XI 



ND now we come to 
the '' good-byes " of 
summer, the golden- 
rod and asters; and 
while this period 
marks what are called 
the ^^m e 1 an c h o 1 y 
days," yet with them 
comes the flower that 
bedecks acres of dull 
land, changing it into 
fields of cloth-of- 
gold, the royal purples of the aster giv- 
ing a last rich touch to the autumn coloring, 
which is already gold and crimson. 

Golden-rod is a member of the Compositae 
family, of which there are ten thousand spe- 
cies. It is a family easily recognized, for the 

103 




104 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

flowers are always closely packed together in 
heads, surrounded by an involucre. It is not 
so easy to distinguish the golden-rods, as there 
are nearly a hundred kinds in the United 
States, but a few very common varieties may 
be easily told. 

The botanical name, Solidago, is, according 
to Gray, from the Latin w^ord to make whole, 
from supposed healing qualities the plant was 
believed to possess. The S, caesia, or wreath 
golden-rod, gets its name from its bluish stem, 
which is unbranched. In the axils of the 
lance-shaped, feather-veined leaves are the 
pale golden clusters of tiny florets. 

S, semperoirens easily may be recognized 
by its stout stem, thick, fleshy, lance-shaped 
leaves, and great showy clusters of tansy-like 
flower-heads. This we call beach golden- 
rod. It is a magnificent spectacle against the 
background of sand and beach grass. S, jun- 
cea, the early plume, or yellow top, has small 
yellow blossoms waving at the summit of a 
smooth rigid stem from one to three feet high. 
S, rugosa^ or wrinkled-leaved, is tall, lifting 



Boggy solitudes of Nantucket los 

a large compound gracefully curved panicle, 
with small flower clusters. This is an early 
variety. 

S. ulmifolia is similar to S. rugosa, but is 
easily distinguished by a smoother stem and 
thin large leaves. S. odora, or sweet golden- 
rod, has fragrant, shiny, bright-green dotted 
leaves, w^hich, when crushed in the hand, can- 
not be mistaken for any other species. 

The most beautiful of all is the low-grow- 
ing gray or field golden-rod. It has cottony 
stems and hoary, grayish-green leaves, which 
set off its rich, deep yellow coloring to per- 
fection. S, canadensis^ or Canada golden-rod, 
has a large, spreading, dense flowered panicle 
crowning a tall, rough, hairy stem. S, lan- 
ceolata and S. tennifolis are similar. In the 
former, the tall stem has narrow leaves, and 
a dense flat-topped, greenish-yellow flower 
cluster, while the latter has slenderer leaves, 
rather crowded, and the flower clusters are 
smaller. 

Growing near the golden-rods the aster will 
always be found — 



106 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

M ** Purple asters here at last! 

And thistle seed a-blowing! 
And what is this in the blackbird^s song? — 
The locusts pipe it shrill and long, 

Over and over, — ' Past, past, past ! 

The summer days are going/ " 

There are over a hundred species of asters 
in the United States, and, as in the case of 
golden-rod, even a botanist has difficulty in 
distinguishing them. 

We find the aster patens, sometimes called 
spreading asters, growing along dry roadsides 
in August. It is low-growing, with bright 
blue-purple flowers, from twenty to thirty rays 
in a flower disk, which has quite a curvature, 
measuring an inch or more across. The center 
of the flower is a greenish-yellow, and the 
main stem is covered below with minute short 
hairs and is clasped by the rough, narrowly 
oblong leaves. The wide-spreading branches, 
with slender branchlets, usually terminate 
with a solitary flower. 

In the swamps along the coast we find the 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 107 

A, novi Belgii, a slender-stemmed, branching 
plant, growing from one to three feet tall, 
with violet flower-heads and lance-shaped 
leaves, while along the edges of dry fields we 
notice the spreading wand-like branches, 
thickly covered on their upper side with the 
tiny flower-heads (resembling snowflakes) of 
the A, ericoides. This is easily recognized 
by its smaller linear leaves. The A. umbella- 
tus is the tall white aster of the swamps and 
thickets. Growing six or seven feet tall, it is 
easily identified by its large, flat flow^er clus- 
ters and long tapering leaves. 

The ripening cranberries are crushed by 
every step taken in the quaking sphagnum 
bogs, these glorious September days, while 
the fox grapes, hanging in rich clusters, are 
taking a reddish tint and giving forth a deli- 
cate aroma. 

Acres and acres are white with the snake 
root. These flowers are composed of clusters 
of tubular blossoms, exquisite under the glass, 
and much more feathery and effective than 
boneset. 



108 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

^^When has this swamp milk-weed by the 
roadside looked so fair as now, with its burst- 
ing pods and silky seeds — those little waifs 
thrown out upon the world with every passing 
breeze? How tenderly they seem to cling to 
the cozy home where they have been so snugly 
cradled and protected: and see how they sail 
away, two or three together, loath to part, until 
some rude gust shall separate them forever. 
And here's the great spiny thistle, that armed 
highwayman, with florid face and pompon 
in his cap. But he has had his day, and now 
we see him old and seedy; his spears are 
broken, and his silvery gray hairs are floating 
everywhere, and glistening in the sun." 

And once again the season is expressed by 
the far-away, far-away autumn call of the 
bluebird. 



"Ah, come and woo the spring; 
List to the birds that sing: 
Pluck the primroses; pluck the violets: 
Pluck the daisies, 
Sing their praises; 
Friendship with the flowers some noble thought 
begets/' 

— Edward Yont. 



AFTERWORD 



HERE is a saying, 
" Noiseless falls the 
foot of time which 
only treads on flow- 
ers." The last four 
months have been 
lived with the flow- 
ers, but nothing has 
been said so far of the 
joy these nature's gar- 
dens brought into the 
home; of the great 
blue bowls of daisies and buttercups and bru- 
nella, the jars of sweet fern and bay, the great 
brown crocks of stately thistles, or the smaller 
glass dishes, tumblers and vases of the dainty 
little violets, bluets, arbutus, and other delicate 
blossoms of May and June; the rare orchids, 
or the fine large specimens of royal cinnamon 

ferns and interrupted fern. 

Ill 




112 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

It was the latter part of June that the first 
fern dishes, which have been so beautiful and 
refreshing all summer, were started. In 
these are still growing the crested buckler 
fern, the snake, sensitive, net-veined chain, 
Clinton's wood fern, and many little marsh 
ferns. 

Sundew, both round and thread-leaved, 
have blossomed in them all summer. The 
wild strawberry has had both blossom and 
fruit in one — also the cranberry — and now the 
leaves are tinged with blood red. The 
cinquefoil, with its yellow blossom, trailed 
over soft velvety mosses, both green and 
gray. 

In one a calopogon and in another some 
pogonia filled the air with fragrance. Bed- 
straw and several other little volunteers, 
among them milkwort, were welcomed. 
Partridge and checkerberry vines found little 
corners, and some dainty white violets, with 
their faint sweet scent, bloomed for a month; 
also arethusa and false Solomon's seal. 

In making ten dishes each had surprises 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 113 

and well repaid for the labor. While many 
theories were advanced as to the best way of 
taking care of them, experience taught that 
out of the wind, gently sprayed, with occa- 
sional sunshine, the best results followed. 

Almost anything makes a good receptacle, 
lacking ten regular fern dishes. I tried glass 
bowls, discarded baking dishes, soup plates, 
and, the most effective of all, green fern 
dishes. It seems as if there could be nothing 
more exquisite than these, with the delicate 
green fronds unfolding, a bit of color here and 
there, either sundew or orchid, or little vine 
with red-tinged leaf over fairy-like mosses. 

When we got the pitcher plant, which has 
luxuriated all summer in a Japanese bowl, 
having been freely watered, there were some 
baby plants, which made unique additions to 
the fern dishes, and though there has often 
been the longing for the Jack-in-the-pulpit, 
on his emerald green cushion, with the little 
congregation of pogonia, the dense growth 
prevented his safe transference. 

In due time the wild roses came, and the 



114 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

tiny buds, just showing pink, were picked over 
night and put in bowls of water. In the 
morning they had begun to open their eyes, 
and for several days were wonderfully beauti- 
ful. 

While the wild geranium fades quickly, 
who can resist trying to have it, as did we! 
Following this came glasses of little pyrola, 
with delicate ferns, and great masses of fire- 
weed combined with aletris, which is a very 
prim bouquet when used alone. 

The polygala we take up root and all, and 
in a glass of water it is interesting to study the 
white subterranean blossoms together with 
purple ones of the upper stems. 

Now the whole cottage is perfumed with 
the clammy azalea, whose scent represents 
the " soul of the dew," while the yellow loose- 
strife makes us a sunny mass of color. But 
the daintiest and sweetest of all the early sum- 
mer flowers are the little orchids — tway blade, 
moccasin flower, arethusa, pogonia, and calo- 
pogon. 

One can easily tell an orchid when he has 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 115 

learned the flower is made up of two groups, 
three petals, and three sepals, and the lower 
petal, acting as a lip, gives character to each 
species, while the three sepals are often united 
to form a kind of hood above this lip, giving 
the flower the appearance of a bird, butterfly, 
or some other creature with wings. In the 
calopogon the lip appears above, in the upper 
part of the flower, broadened at terminus and 
bearded with w^hite, yellow, and crimson. 

The scarlet pimpernel was so large and so 
near, several times I brought it in to be kept 
on the windowsill, near the little cup of sun- 
dew. And then came the great masses of 
white elder. None but a ruthless hand will 
pick this flower, as it fades so soon, though if 
left growing it is beautiful and lacy for days 
among its delicate green leaves. One, of 
course, must have a large vase of Queen 
Anne's lace, and a big yellow bowl filled with 
the indigo, and then a blaze of Indian yellow, 
in the bustling black-eyed Susans. 

Now the vision of the Canton bowl of white 
orchids, nestling among the crested buckler 



116 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

ferns, makes me pause and wonder if there 
was anything all summer equal to it. 

We dry the sea lavender and keep the nose- 
gay through the winter as a reminder of the 
little marshland where it grew among the 
clams and wonderful red coral-like samphire, 
and the little spray of heather is kept near the 
bow of Scotch larch under which it grew. 

And now those wonderful cardinal flowers, 
which we guarded carefully, watching the 
blood-red blossoms opening one by one to- 
wards the end of the spray! The sight of 
them brings visions of the little meadow 
where they hide themselves, just as the sab- 
batia does of the little pond, blue with the 
pickerel weed, hid in the " hollow of low 
rounded hills." 

The clethra, of which there is so much, and 
which lasts so well, is very decorative, and 
breathes its incense through the whole cot- 
tage, while the great pink hibiscus, which, 
with the golden-rod and vervain, have formed 
a little colony of their own, are all dear to the 
lover of color. The Japanese bowl of Indian 



BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 117 

pipes, arranged with the meal plum, in which 
they were found growing, lasted several weeks 
by frequent changing of the water, and were 
very unique, as were the platters of many- 
colored mushrooms. 

The last orchid of summer, lady's tress, 
over which Asa Gray and Darwin spent hours 
of study, comes up from the sandiest soil or 
gray moss, while near is the blazing star, or 
purple feather, and each keeps well. 

I must not forget the lovely bouquets of 
gerardia, nor the wonderful vase of grasses, 
a few of each kind found during the summer, 
and last of all the " good-byes " — those gener- 
ous blooms of golden-rod and asters, so rich 
and bright, and of such a harvest! Once we 
must have great sprays of grapevine hanging 
on the chimney place, the fruit just turning — 
and cranberry vines, with the berries ripening 
on them. 

There has been a continuous garden all 
summer. Half the beauty and comfort of it 
has not been told; nor of the hours and hours 
in the open, far, far away from care, and the 



118 BOGGY SOLITUDES OF NANTUCKET 

vainglory of man. But especially dear is the 
memory of the " boggy solitudes." 

*^ Pokin' round 'mid ferns and mosses, 
Like a hop-toad or a snail, 
Somehow seems to lighten crosses. 

Where my heart would elsewhere fail." 



AUG 6 1908 



